JEWELS FROM JAMES #12

THE SON WILL COME OUT TOMORROW

After writing eleven blogs on four chapters of the Book of James (I encourage you to read all of them), we now come to the fifth and last chapter. As we have noted throughout this series, James is a book of some very serious and even tough teaching. It is definitely not the "milk" of the Word!.

Now, here in the first twelve verses of this fifth chapter, James addressed his readers regarding a Biblical perspective on wealth and poverty. James described the "Unjust Rich" and brought charges of insensitivity, injustice and indulgence against them. Specifically, he points out that unjust rich people seek comfort, and a life-style of complacency, indifference and even cowardice, while many of the followers of Jesus were living a life of suffering.

A very important point must be made here. Our Creator God gave the first human couple a whole world to enjoy, making it obvious that possessions are not wrong in themseves. The Bible nowhere condemns wealth. Rather, it insists that the rich must be responsible, and be aware of the perils of wealth. The most important aspect of money management is the control of our attitude towards it. Money is NOT the "root of all evil" as the Apostle Paul is often misquoted. His actual words were, "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" (I Timothy 6:10). Failure to prioritize is a great hazard of prosperity. Don't ask, "How much can I make?" "How much can I spend?" "How important can I be?" The wise and godly question is "How much can I bless others with the wealth/money God has entrusted to me?"

James did not consider it a sin to be rich. His concern was with the abuse of riches that caused God to be forgotten! In chapter 4, James had criticized the people who made plans that failed to include God. Here in chapter five, he strongly advised those who use their wealth as if there is no accountability to God to "weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you" (verse 1). The pursuit of riches and self-focused living bring misery. Right attitudes and actions regarding money is absolutely esstential for the follower of Jesus!

Thus, James ISSUED A WARNING TO THE UNJUST RICH! "Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you" (James 5:2-6). His message was clear: Their abuse of riches was extremely evident; they practiced fraud, cheated their workers, lived in luxury, killed rightous people, laid up treasures to spend on themselves, and as a result their gold and silver became corroded. (Hmm . . . sounds like he was talking about the 21st century!) James taught the following truths in relation to those practices:

1) The abuse of riches devours a person physically. The corrosion of their gold and silver "will eat your flesh like fire."

2) The abuse of riches devours a person's integrity. "The cries of the harvesters . . . are crying out against you . . . and have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts."

3) The abuse of riches devours a person's heart. "You have fattened your hearts in a day when others are suffering."

In Scripture, we find A HEALTHY AND BIBLICAL APPROACH TO FINANCES. Here are the principles found in the Bible:

First, know that ALL of your financial resources are a gift from God. We have what we have becaue God has provided it to us. Therefore, it is absolutely true that all we have actually belongs to God; the title to all things in our possession belongs to Him!

Second, believe that God will meet ALL of our needs! "And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). Not some of your needs, but ALL of your needs! Not in accordance with your job, your wages, your savings or checking account, and not through government, but "ACCORDING TO HIS RICHES IN GLORY THROUGH JESUS CHRIST!"

Third, learn to give generously! John Wesley, the missionary, the evangelist, the hymn-writer, the "Father of Methodism" said, "Make all you can, save all you can and give all you can!" That is great and Biblical advice! You see, the underlying principle in giving is that it is NOT the amount given, it IS THE HEART BEHIND THE GIFT THAT COUNTS!

Fourth, Seek earnestly to be patient! We all tend to have a "Consumer's Impatience"; we want what we want and we want it NOW. That mentality will get us into trouble, even financial trouble! James taught, "Be patient, therefore brothers, until even the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand" (James 5:7-8). Followers of Jesus are warned against falling into the trap of financial consumption! Judgment is coming from the Lord! Therefore, we are to be patient, just like the farmer is patient concerning his crops. Waiting is not easy and may not even be convenient; we are bombarded by well-done ads and solicitations to spend money and acquire wanted possessions. But we must resist all that and trust God to provide in His time! While we patiently wait, it is God's plan for us to "establish our hearts", in other words, to get our relationship with Jesus on solid footing, to be spiritually growing to maturity and more like Jesus in character, thoughts and conduct every day.

James concludes this section by detailing three critical areas of life in which he had believers in Christ Jesus in mind:

First, the need to have THE RIGHT ATTITUDES ABOUT TRIALS AND TESTINGS! James lived and taught with the mind-set that the Lord Jesus, the Judge of all, was standing right at the door, ready to come back to earth, as He promised He would. He believed "the Son Will Come Out Tomorrow!" In light of that, James said, "Do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged" (James 5:9). He meant, we are not to treat people harshly, we are not to criticize, we are not to cast judgment on their motives, we are not to spread rumors about them, we are not to give others a bad report about people., etc.

Second, he tells us WE ARE TO BE READY AND WILLING TO SUFFER OURSELVES. James used the illustration of the Prophets of old, who suffered much and were patient, remaining steadfast. He pointed to Job who remained steadfast to his God even in the midst of severe suffering and loss of everything! We are to be reminded again and again that for all things the Lord has a purpose, and He is completely compassionate and merciful, ". . . and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful" (James 5:11).

Third, James tells his readers to CONTINUE TO LIVE IN CONSISTENT INTEGRITY! "But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your 'yes' be yes and your 'no' be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation" (James 5:12). In other words be followers of Jesus living in personal and faithful integrity!

James was convinced that the Lord Jesus Christ could return to earth at any moment. So he instructed us in how to live in practical righteousness and holiness. Thus we do so, by God's help and grace, for we too believe THE SON WILL COME OUT TOMORROW!